Question

Сжать текст Governance is a term used to describe the political organization of municipalities.
It also concerns the on-going involvement of citizens and the accountability of council members.

Each municipality in the province consists of a mayor and a varying number of
councillors. The number of councillors generally depends on the population of the
municipality and varies from four to ten. However, council has the ability to
change the number of its council members.

All members of council are elected and serve a three-year term. Each member of
council, including the mayor, is entitled to one vote on matters that come before
them for discussion.

Municipal councils are empowered to address the existing and future needs of their
community by making decisions that are recorded in bylaws or resolutions.
Council members embody the public welfare of their communities which often
means trying to balance their vision with the concerns expressed by the people and
organizations affected by their decisions.

Councils also have the ability to manage the finances of their municipality by
setting levels of expenditures and taxation. Ultimately, they are also responsible
for the management and delivery of services to their community. These
responsibilities are undertaken with very little intrusion by senior levels of
government. However, there are circumstances where certain decisions made by
council are not effective until they are approved by the province. For example, if a
municipal council wants to change the boundary of their municipality, the province
has the responsibility for deciding the matter.

In some cases, the mayor or council may decide to establish a committee or
commission to undertake some work on behalf of council. Council can delegate
some of its authority the committee or commission although this power has some
restrictions. For example, it cannot delegate authority to make a bylaw or any
power or duty exercisable only by bylaw.